January 17, 2021, Alexey Navalny returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been receiving treatment after being poisoned. On the fifth anniversary of that day, Novaya Gazeta Europe collected accounts from people who witnessed his arrival, detention, and the protests that followed.
The publication’s sources say his decision to return did not surprise them. According to them, Navalny saw it as a matter of principle and did not view long-term exile as an option. One participant in those events said that shortly before the flight, Navalny called to ask whether he needed to wear a medical mask at the airport.
“You will definitely be detained,” the source said was the answer when Navalny asked what awaited him after landing.
On the day of his return, supporters and journalists first gathered at Vnukovo, but the Pobeda flight was redirected at the last moment to Sheremetyevo. Navalny was detained there at passport control. Witnesses also describe the detention of his supporters at Vnukovo and restrictions placed on journalists working inside the airport.
After the arrest, support rallies began across the country. Former staffers from Navalny’s regional headquarters and human rights defenders recall that the protests were met with harsh detentions. According to OVD-Info, more than 17,000 people were detained in the three weeks after Navalny’s arrival. For rights defenders, it became one of the most difficult campaigns, conducted largely online.
The sources also say that at the time not everyone expected the most tragic outcome. Later, after the full-scale war began in 2022, many of them concluded that there was almost no hope Navalny would be released alive. They describe his return on January 17, 2021 as one of the defining episodes of the final prewar period and a symbol of his determination to remain with his supporters in Russia.